Early Life
Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright was born in St John's Wood in London. The youngest of four children, her father, Arthur Dickson Wright, was a surgeon to the Royal Family, and her mother, Molly (née Bath), was an Australian heiress. Her cousin is comedian Alexander Armstrong. Her former brother-in-law is Byron Janis, who was married to Clarissa's elder sister, June, but the marriage ended in divorce.
Born to a wealthy family, she had a Roman Catholic childhood and grew up in a nine-bedroom house in St. John's Wood that was staffed with several servants. Dickson Wright's father was an alcoholic who subjected his wife and children to verbal and physical abuse. At the age of 11, Clarissa Dickson Wright was sent to Sacred Heart School. After school Clarissa studied for the Bar at Gray's Inn, while pursuing a law degree at University College London.
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